Adolescents with Sickle Cell Disease: Self-Efficacy as a Factor in Readiness to Transition from Pediatric to Adult Medical Care

Baum, Dabney

ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, The George Washington University

Adolescents and young adults with sickle cell disease (SCD) must develop self-efficacy and disease-management skills to transition successfully to adult medical care. This quantitative study explored whether self-efficacy, age, and gender were predictive of transition readiness of adolescents with SCD from pediatric to adult medical care. Eighty-seven individuals with SCD between the ages of 14 and 25 years completed an interview survey composed of demographic items, the Sickle Cell Self-Efficacy Scale (SCSES), and the Transition Readiness Assessment Questionnaire 4.1 (TRAQ 4.1). The regression analysis indicated that self-efficacy, gender, and age were statistically significant predictors of transition readiness. The adjusted R[superscript 2] suggested that 38% of the variability in transition readiness could be predicted by the linear combination of these variables. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]